Author Archives: Admin

House Overrides Henry’s Obamacare Veto

Mike McCarville

Governor Henry’s veto of a bill that would allow Oklahoma to opt out of Obamacare was overriden in the House this morning.  The vote was 72-24; 68 votes, or two-thirds of the 101-members, were needed.  The override still needs two-thirds approval, or 32 votes, in the 48-member Senate.

The override attempt there may come tomorrow, but many, including Rep. Charles Key, believe it likely will fail in the Senate.  Key said, "…the likelihood of such a vote passing the Senate with the numbers necessary is tenuous at best. With less than 10 days left in this year’s legislative session, it is critical that we act immediately to protect Oklahomans from the federal healthcare mandates and the only option left is passing SJR 59, authored by Representative Mike Thompson and Senator Dan Newberry.

“Oklahomans should not be forced by Congress to participate in this unconstitutional and financially devastating assault on our freedoms and our healthcare rights," Key added.

“The actions of our Governor and inaction by our Attorney General leave me and other legislators with the belief that the only way we can stop the President and Congress’s attack on our constitutional and healthcare freedoms is to put ObamaCare to a vote of the people.

“SJR 59 will allow Oklahomans to vote on a constitutional amendment that will prohibit the federal government from encroaching on Oklahomans’ healthcare freedoms. It will also protect your right to preserve your current doctor-patient relationship and the ability to seek out the best health care services without fear of punitive federal government intervention.

“Because SJR 59 is a constitutional amendment, it does not have to go to the Governor’s desk for signature, but can go immediately to the ballot. This legislation has already passed both the House and the Senate with strong, bipartisan support. If this legislation were to once again pass the House, the citizens of Oklahoma would be given an opportunity to make their voices heard," Key said.

 

Edit Note: First reported by the McCarville Report Online


 

Oklahoma Handgun Carry Law Supported Online

David Arnett, Publisher

Reacting to Governor Brad Henry’s veto of HB 3354, the "Open Carry Law," passed only days ago by majorities that could override the Governor’s veto power and make Oklahoma the 44th open carry state, hundreds of Oklahoma residents are now pushing Oklahoma Legislators for passage with a petition online demanding that open carry reform become law.  

Petition founder Russ Cook told Tulsa Today, “This reasonable
reform would only allow those who hold a concealed carry license to
carry openly.

"Bad guys don’t carry openly in a secure holster.  They
conceal without any license or they brandish to terrorize people,” Cook added.

Click here to reach that petition.

“Incredibly, Governor Brad Henry has vetoed this bill which merely gives Oklahomans 21 years and older with a licensed concealed permit the option to take their jackets off.  By contrast, most states currently don’t even require a permit to open carry a handgun for residents over the age of 18 years” Cook added.

Cook says the veto is a slap in the face of all Oklahoma gun owners.  “On behalf of all citizens of Oklahoma, we call on the Oklahoma legislature to stand tall against Governor Brad ‘Veto Happy’ Henry, a governor who has cast more vetoes this year than most state governors do in their entire term."

A petition signer alert forum (click here to reach the forum) also urges every Oklahoma gun owner to tell their state legislators to reject the veto.

Should the bill become law, Oklahoma handgun carry laws will still be stricter than most states.

“If people stand silent while government continues to erode personal Liberty in America, that Liberty they love, that their forefathers fought and died to protect and held for generations will soon be gone forever.  This is not about any one administration; this is about the Constitution and freedom,” Cook said.

Cook expects the Legislature to override the veto, but adds that they should remember that "gun owners in Oklahoma have elephant memories.  Any legislators changing their vote to sustain a veto will likely have some company in their next party primary."

An unsubtle promise in a volatile political year.

 

Talons fall in Cleveland 68-55.

Rich Lohman

altTalons fall back to .500 with 3rd straight road loss.

CLEVELAND, OH.–The road has not been kind to the Talons this season.  

On Saturday night in the Quicken Loans Arena, the Tulsa squad fell to the Cleveland Gladiators 68-55 in a game that featured four turnovers from Tulsa and a record nine touchdown passes by Gladiator QB John Dutton combined to spell doom for the Talons. 

 It was the third consecutive loss for Tulsa (3-3) on the road. It is also the fifth consecutive road loss for the Talons dating back to last season. The Gladiators (3-3) posted their third consecutive win after losing their first three games of the season. 

Talons QB Justin Allgood completed 24 passes on 37 attempts for 352 yards, but he also threw two interceptions.  One of which occurred in the 4th quarter with the Talons behind by 6 points and on the ensuing drive the Gladiators scored the TD that put the game out of reach.

Talons receiver Donovan Morgan caught 11 passes for 188 yards and 2 touchdowns, Jeff Hughley would catch 7 passes for 81 yards and three touchdowns.  Carlese Franklin caught 6 passes for 83 yards and 2 TDs.

On the other side of the ball, Cleveland QB Jeff Dutton needed only 202 yards to pass the 30,000 yard mark and six touchdowns to eclipse 600 for his career,  Dutton threw 28-of-48 for 397 yards and 9 touchdowns, easily giving him the career-high.  Ben Nelson caught thirteen passes for 202 yards and 6 touchdowns and set the pace for both teams on the stat sheet.  In all, the Talons would produce 369 yards of offense while the Gladiators would post an even 400 yards.

The most disappointing statistic of all for the Talons was the fact that the third straight road loss for Tulsa extends to 5 the number of losses they have on the road going back to last season,

The Talons return home to face the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz at 7pm in the amazing BOK Center on Saturday night.  Tickets are available at the BOK Center box office, tulsatalons.com or by calling the Talons office at 294-1000.

Talons games are broadcast live on the internet by Nifty TV and can be accessed through the Talons website.  All of the Talons home and away games are broadcast on AM740 and FM102.3 KRMG with Rick Couri providing the play-by-play action.

 

Conan O’Brien Brings The Laughs

Ernie Osborn, Entertainment/Concert Editor

altHilarity reigned supreme Saturday night , May 15 at Brady Theater.  Conan O’Brien brought an amazingly energetic and side-splittingly funny show to Tulsa.  

O’Brien, not being known for stand up comedy, was enigmatic in his approach, but pulled it off like a seasoned vet.  He brought different tinges to the stage through skit, video and song. 

Opener Reggie Watts got the sold out house going with his constantly changing accents and beat-box songs.  Upon first coming to the stage he had an urban accent and led into using spontaneous voice samples to create a short song.  Next, he started an English accent and sat at a small keyboard and gave a hilarious song about his woman’s purse and why it was so big.  Did she have another purse inside?  Reggie finished his set with his ode to hip-hop with "F*&K, S#%T Stack."  Enormously funny and completely irreverent he had the crowd in tears by the end of his set.

After a short intermission it was time for O’Brien to make his long awaited appearance.  Before he came out though it was still time for more warm up as the "Legally Prohibited" Band came out and energized the crowd more with song and near riot exploration of the venue.  Running all around and stopping to interact with the packed house.  It was totally unexpected and raucously funny.  Making their way back up to the stage and ending their music number, making way for Conan. 

Conan O’Brien, who has been out of public eye for a little more than 2 months now, was introduced via video that started by saying the words, "2 Months Ago" only to show O’Brien laid out in the floor, huge beard, long hair and extremely overweight, numerous pizza boxes and beer bottles strung out all around him.  The phone rings and he answers it, "Job!"  Alas, it is a wrong number asking for Debbie.  What follows next is a series of clips of his daily routine and antics with Eric Carmen’s "All By Myself" providing the soundtrack.  From his daily walk to the mailbox to jumping on a trampoline and interaction with his little girl who alerted, "Mom! Dad smells like pee!"  It was a zany look at CoCo as he has been dubbed.  A little bit of a throw out to Tom Hanks in Cast Away, hmmm maybe a little symbolism there with what NBC did to the funny man. The video wraps with the phone ringing again and Conan answering it with, "Debbie isn’t here!"  Only to be stopped and told about the chance to do this tour and asking if he is ready.  The ensuing montage shows his road back to being in shape.

It is a fantastic beginning to an outrageous evening. 

It is easy to see that CoCo has done his homework on the area, as he comes out and quickly states that he has visited Mayfest and "found a piece of art and some tube socks." 

The show itself was kind of a live version of what you could expect from his TV show.  You get a glimpse of his very scattered mind and the people who have helped put the pieces in place.

He is joined onstage by Andy Richter who only adds to the night as they play off each other and poked fun at TV execs, and NBC.  All by still staying "legal" as they say, by not mentioning anything that is contract violating.  There really is no holding back once they get going and you never really know what is coming next, as there seem to be surprises around every turn. 

Dion Cole, a writer for Conan comes out and "tries" some material out.  Paper in hand and making note of what jokes work and which ones bomb.  Even giving us a little secret insider info into when things just aren’t working out for a comic.  The key words are "it is crazy out here man" and "let’s here it for the ladies"  whenever you here this the jokes are bombing.  Cole added that these phrases also work in the bedroom when thing just aren’t going your way.

The night never slowed down as it went from Conan telling life stuff about what was going on these days and his desire to have a new show, to his coming onstage in Eddie Murphy’s leather suit he wore in the Raw concert film.  Then suddenly stopping and telling the crowd that Hanson happened by and is going to play.

The whole evening was like this though in true Conan O’Brien fashion.  It was like Willy Wonka, "little surprises around every corner, but nothing dangerous."

His new show starts in November on TBS, but honestly if that doesn’t work out Conan, you may seriously think about a regular tour.  You did just fine live.

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Photos by: Kevin Pyle

 

 

 

 

Drillers week in review, week 6

The Tulsa Drillers had an active week, winning a four game series against the Arkansas Travelers 3-1 on the road after dropping the final two games of a home stand with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. The three wins over the Travelers helped them move a half-game ahead of Arkansas and into third place in the Texas League North. 

LOOKING BACK

Monday: Fresh off a 9-0 win over Northwest Arkansas the day before, rain delayed the start of Tulsa’s third game of the four-game series with the Naturals an hour and three minutes. Once things got going Northwest Arkansas lefty Mike Montgomery, the number on draft choice of the Kansas City Royals in 2008, shut down Tulsa to the tune of 7-3. Montgomery allowed four hits and one run while striking out three batters through six innings. 

Tuesday: Jeff Francis was solid again in his second rehab start for the Drillers. Through seven innings Francis allowed only six hits while maintaining a shutout. Jeff Kindel cranked a solo shot for Tulsa in the bottom of the sixth to give the Drillers a 1-0 lead.

Northwest Arkansas jumped on Tulsa after Francis departed the game, as Mike Moustakas hit a sacrifice fly that scored Kurt Mertins to tie the game. From there the Naturals followed with three straight run scoring singles to put them on top 4-1. Reliever Louis Coleman pitched three perfect innings, retiring nine straight Tulsa batters and securing the three-run win.

Thursday: Tulsa arrived in North Little Rock to begin an eight-game road stretch. The Drillers held the lead three times before allowing the Travelers to tie the game up and send it into extra innings. Tulsa’s Scott Beerer would make the play of the game in the top of the 12th inning.

Beerer lined a single into left field and kept running when Ivan Contreras bobbled the ball. Beerer safely made his way to second base on the play. Wilin Rosario then doubled to center field to score Beerer and the Drillers held on to win 7-6.

Friday: Tulsa rode the momentum from Thursday’s win to defeat Arkansas 2-1. Daniel Mayora hit a ground rule double to left field in the top of the eighth. Beerer then knocked a single to right field, scoring Mayora and giving the Drillers the lead.

Sean Jarrett struck out four batters while allowing one run and three hits over four and 2/3 innings to get the win for Tulsa.

Saturday: The Drillers picked up their third straight one-run win over the Travelers, winning a 1-0 pitcher’s dual. Mayora’s RBI triple in the top of the eighth inning broke a scoreless tie and proved to be the game winner. Tulsa’s Chris Malone picked up his first win of the season, allowing just one hit and striking out two batters through two innings of relief work.

Sunday: Four was the magic number for Arkansas on Sunday. After waiting through a four-hour rain delay in the fourth game of the series, the Travelers scored four runs to beat the Drillers by one run. Arkansas tied the game in the bottom of the ninth inning on a wild pitch by Tulsa’s Scott Rice.

The Travelers secured a 4-3 win in the bottom of the tenth when a wild throw to the plate allowed Carlos Colmenares to score. The play was the fourth error charged to Tulsa on the night. 

THE WEEK AHEAD

The Drillers head back to Springdale, Arkansas for a four-game set beginning Monday at 7 p.m. Tulsa is 1-3 against the Naturals this season. Tulsa returns briefly to ONEOK Field for a four-game series with Springfield that begins on Friday.

STANDINGS

Texas League North: Northwest Arkansas (21-14), Springfield (20-16), Tulsa (15-20), Arkansas (14-20). 

Texas League South: Frisco (20-16), Corpus Christi (19-17), San Antonio (17-19), Midland (16-20).

BATTING LEADERS (Minimum of 20 at bats)

Average: Scott Beerer (.273) Hits: Scott Beerer (33) Doubles: Daniel Mayora (9) Triples: Anthony Jackson (2), Jason Van Kooten (2) Homeruns: Ryan Harvey (5) RBI: Jeff Kindel (19).

PITCHING LEADERS (Minimum of 14 innings pitched)

Wins: Bruce Billings (2), Sean Jarrett (2), Andy Graham (2), Keith Weiser (2) ERA: Ching Lung Lo (1.47) Saves: Craig Baker (5) Strikeouts: Cory Riordan (24).

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS

May 21: Fireworks Friday presented by Southern Hills Mariott and STAR 103.3. May 22: Drillers Idol and Rally Appearance presented by Celebrity Attractions, 98.5 KVOO and 1170 KFAQ. May 23: Family FUNday Sunday / Bark in the Park! Presented by The Humane Society of Tulsa, VCA Animal Hospitals and MIX 96. 

Tickets are available for all upcoming Drillers games  are available at the ONEOK Field box office, by calling 744-5901 or online at Tulsa drillers.com.